CIBC Asset Management Inc Raises Position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)

CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS - Free Report) by 684.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 138,991 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 121,270 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc owned 0.10% of A. O. Smith worth $9,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in A. O. Smith in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of A. O. Smith by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 812 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on A. O. Smith from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised A. O. Smith from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on A. O. Smith from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of A. O. Smith from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, A. O. Smith currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.86.

A. O. Smith Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AOS traded down $0.81 on Friday, hitting $65.99. 1,097,764 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,468,661. The firm's 50-day moving average is $68.57 and its 200 day moving average is $75.51. The company has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.17. A. O. Smith Co. has a 1-year low of $64.55 and a 1-year high of $92.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.55.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 13.98%. Sell-side analysts predict that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. A. O. Smith's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.47%.

Insider Transactions at A. O. Smith

In related news, SVP Douglas Samuel Karge sold 419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $27,507.35. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $180,471.85. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 1,026 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $67,356.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,562.85. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.